It sounds ridiculous, but there was a point where I started faking phone calls just to get out of social situations on campus. Not because I didn’t like the people, I just couldn’t handle being “on” all the time.
You know how in college, there’s this invisible pressure to always seem like you’re doing fine? Whether it's group projects, or even just hanging around campus, I felt like I had to perform some version of myself constantly. Smiling, being approachable, pretending I wasn’t tired when I was running on three hours of sleep. So I’d grab my phone, put in my earbuds, and pretend I was on an urgent call while walking loops around campus. I did it more than I’d like to admit. It gave me space without having to explain anything to anyone.
Now I’ve gotten better at actually saying, “Hey, I need a break,” but that didn’t come easy. Faking phone calls was my weird coping mechanism and honestly, it worked when I needed it. Everyone deals with pressure differently. Mine just involved pretending I was talking to my dentist.